Spam, the canned meat and pride of Hormel, got a huge PR platform when the U.S. Navy decided to drop a lot of it to the more than 4,000 people of the stricken Carnival Splendor cruise line who were adrift for four days.

The delectable lunchable provided a lifeline to the passengers and crews. Alas, the ingrates on the boat dissed Spam, which they considered a far cry from the lavish buffets they had anticipated.

Cheeky headlines in media such as The Telegraph covered the story with the headline "Spam boat' passengers tell of 'cruise from hell,'" while vendors hawked T-shirts, saying "I survived the 2010 Carnival Cruise Spamcation."